What do Millennials really want?

Millennials want what every generation before them has wanted.

They are just less concerned with how the world views them because of their decision to prioritize those wants.

Some call it naive, some call it brave.

Generation definitions or stereotypes have never made much sense to me. I understand it is “easier” to give a group of people a title and refer to them all as the same while using descriptions that are believed to encompass them all, but isn’t this exactly the opposite of what we have fought against since the beginning of time?

In lieu of that, why don’t we go down the list and see how these all encompassing definitions apply to you.

“The Greatest Generation” is known for their self sacrifice and endurance to grow up and live through one of the most intense times in history; The Great Depression.

“The Silent Generation” is also known for their endurance and drive as they were born during The Great Depression. They did as they were told and worked hard.

“The Baby Boomers” were known for their spending habits, which was contrary to their parents experiences. They spent, a lot. They seemed to be the first generation to outwardly speak against things they did not agree with while being open to new things…think 70’s.

“Generation X” is known for being highly educated and experiencing the benefits of a great economy.

“Xennials” you’ve heard of them right? The “crossover” generation that doesn’t really fit? They experienced less social media and more of the old school social and dating scene.

That brings us to “Millennials” or “Generation Y”. Typically the range in years for this generation are 1980-2000, give or take a year.

First, are you kidding? How do you wrap people into a generational description ranging 20 years in both The Baby Boomer Generation and the Millennial Generation?

I digress.

I am sure you’ve gathered by now that I am considered a Millennial. I love nicknames so I’ll just embrace that as such. Unfortunately, when people hear the word Millennial they typically cringe due to all of the negative connotations that are associated with it. However, I do not take offense easily, so it does not offend me by being referred to as a Millennial.

Throughout history every generation has had individuals that are passionate about their beliefs enough to take a stand. The Greatest Generation in World War II. Baby Boomers in the Civil Rights Movement, just to name a couple.

There have also been some entitled and lazy individuals in each generation, but also some incredibly driven ones.

Typically the words that I commonly hear associated with Millennials are entitled, lazy, selfish, needy (instant gratification), high maintenance (demand work-life balance).

If you’re a Millennial, I’ll just give you a minute to let that soak in.

I am a positive person that embraces self improvement. I thrive off love and laughter so when I commonly hear those negative words associated with a generation I am told I’m part of, it makes me wonder.

Attitude. It is where most things are created or destroyed and is the one thing you have complete control over every day.

I demand a work-life balance. I am not ashamed of that nor do I hide that from anyone or any company. I deeply believe that God and family come first and I will always prioritize that above my career. I have paid the price a few times for that, but I am fine with it. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if my husband or my children were to ever wonder if they are important.

I have seen this desire for a work-life balance in every generation I have interacted with. My parents are Baby Boomers and were self employed my whole life. Clearly, this enabled them to prioritize family. It also demanded a lot of them and they worked very hard. But, wait, they were the flighty flower children weren’t they? I love sarcasm, I eat it for breakfast.

T-ball was a big thing when I was little and guess what they handed out when we all finished? Did you guess it? No? Well…here’s your participation ribbon anyway.

Oh yeah, and now that we are all in the workforce prior generations hate that Millennials are needy or desire instant gratification for a job well done, even if they sucked. 

When you condition certain personalities with such things as a participation ribbon, it sets expectations and they will go forward in life believing this is how life works.

Things of this nature happen with every generation as each generation does their best through embracing their values and teaching their truth. They are all parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents that are trying to navigate these complex waters we call life.

Those teachers and parents that handed out those participation ribbons, well, they did it because they wanted everyone to feel valued. It was a beautiful sentiment. I’m grateful for that love they shared.

My dad’s biggest pet peeve was laziness and I heard about that from birth. Sometimes, he associated relaxing with laziness and to this day has to be forced to relax. Balance…he’s still learning. Laziness is taught, encouraged and tolerated. I consider myself lucky to have been influenced in such a way to eliminate my potential draw toward laziness.

Just as I don’t think it’s right to wrap people into a Generational description, I also don’t believe I can speak for the generation I am associated with.

However, I can sure as hell speak for myself and you can choose to associate that with all Millennials or not. That, my friend, is up to you.

I want a work-life balance and I am willing to do anything I can to make that happen. Aside from my relationship with God, my husband and children are the most important thing in this world to me. I will never allow anything to jeopardize that…and if a career is doing that, onward.

I want to be respected, not for what I do, but for who I am. I am a hardworking woman who will do anything for those I love.

I want to be part of something bigger than myself. This means so many things but I want to leave this world astronomically better than when I arrived.

In my career, I was once was told my expectations were too high. I have never felt as though someone was stepping on my air hose until that moment. I never asked for clarification as I didn’t truly care and knew he must not understand me well. However, I did have a strong urge to clarify that I do have high expectations set for my employer, manager, and myself because I hold those people to a high standard. This stems from the fact that I spend most of my life with them and am well aware that, as my friend Kevin Brown says, influence runs both ways.

Though this may seem contradictory, I do not think expectations are a good thing, but I firmly believe having high standards are. Having expectations means you have a preconceived vision of how someone should act or how things should go and I do not have the belief that things need to be a certain way. Expectations stem from control and I try to embrace life as it comes.

Have you ever had someone tell you they wish they worked more and were with family less? That they receive too much praise from those around them? No? Well, this leads me to believe that we all tend to have the same desires in life and we just have different ways in how we go about fulfilling those.

Can we choose to view each other as true individuals through a compassionate and clear lens that isn’t muddied with negativity and false stereotypes?

If we can do that, I assure you we will be able to see that to the depths of our souls we are all the same.

We are all one.

We all want the same thing.

To be loved, accepted, admired, respected, and seen.

We weren’t born to fit into a stereotype or “Generation” description.

We were each born to be extraordinary.

How can you make someone feel that way today?